Happy Valentine’s Day!
To celebrate, I would like to share one more love song. This time, my husband was the one to say, "This is a God song."
And it's true. Even though he and I consider this one of "our songs," it can only truly and honestly be sung to the Lover of our Souls, our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's the song...sing it to the only One who can love you perfectly forever.
Read MoreWhen my husband John and I were seniors at the University of Arizona, the Carpenters were at the top of the music charts. We embraced them as our group who sang our songs as we were "a-courting." Their mellow sound and rich melodies fed our romantic feelings toward each other and toward life in general. At our wedding, we danced to, you may have guessed it, "We've Only Just Begun." Lyrics like "White lace and promises, a kiss for luck and we're on our way" made it the perfect song to start out a new marriage...or so we thought.
But as the years have rolled by and reality and maturity have set in, so has the realization that the romantic expectations of youth are so unrealistic and can only truly be fulfilled by an Almighty God.
Read MoreLord,
You are my King. I am your beloved servant. I live to serve Your purpose in my generation for your honor and pleasure (Acts 13:36). Live through me. Love through me. Serve through me...Today!
With love beyond my love. With skill beyond my skill. With forgiveness beyond my forgiveness. With endurance beyond my endurance...
Read MoreAs I awaken in the morning, there are often those dark and empty pulls threatening to grab hold of me first thing. When I give in, I’ll likely not hear or see God all around.
The only God-Voice that I do hear is . . . "don't get sucked into that downward pull.” It’s the fleshly self, happily fed by the enemy of my soul and the unwanted circumstances of my world around me. The Holy Spirit warns where this is headed -- death all around . . . and He rescues if I let Him.
And so today I remember a poem
Read MoreI have a precious friend named Kitty. She sees and hears God EVERYWHERE! Her favorite "mantra," so to speak, is"He is is SO personal!" And that's what I love about Kitty!
However, for Kitty and for all of us, hearing God can be a little tricky. Jesus said we DO hear Him if we belong to Him. But how? Where does the hearing take place?
Kitty and I had such a conversation the other day. Here is my paraphrase:
Read MoreKitty: I'm struggling. One minute I hear this message in sermons and songs and blogs,
"Wait upon the Lord. Keep silent and wait."
And that's what I'm trying to do. But then the next minute, it is
"God is waiting for you to step out in faith, and then He will move."
Which is it?
Jan: This is the key, Kitty...
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 ESV
The other day I had this conversation with my Friend:
ME: Yes, Lord. We are friends ... we go way back, don't we?
Read More“…God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called “the Word.” The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our familiar human words.” (Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p 82)
God is a Speaking God...not just in the past, but right now, right here. Yes, in His Scriptures, but also and very personally to you and me by His Spirit in our spirit.
Read MoreMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me... John 10:27 NASB
As far back as I can remember, I longed to know God. At my mother's knee, I would sit and listen to stories she would tell me from our big gilded Bible (Remembering Stone #1). But it wasn't until later, in my young adulthood, that I became aware that perhaps I could hear God's voice speak to me...not audibly, but in the still, small voice of His sweet Spirit dwelling within.
Read MoreThe last in my “Joy in January” series, originally shared in January 2015, is a post written by my youngest “Guest Branch” and my oldest grandchild Kaden. When he wrote it, he was just 8-1/2 y.o. and now he is almost 15 … how can that be? So it’s my delight once again to share this awesome blog. We can all learn from the young ones in the faith, can’t we? By the way, be sure to see Kaden’s “today photo” at the end…yikes!
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children [and grandchildren] are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 ESV
It is pure JOY for me to introduce my youngest "Guest Branch" to A Branch in the Vine. My 8-1/2 year old grandson Kaden is today's blogger.
Read MoreTwenty-plus years ago, our family began to walk through the trial of our lives. Our precious son Jeremy began to have obvious issues that led to a diagnosis of thyroid cancer on February 13, 1998. My goodness, he was only 20 years old, athletic, handsome, healthy (or so we thought). As his mom, I experienced pain that I had never felt before or since. I watched my gorgeous "baby boy" walk through the trial of his life with courage and grace, despite his normal fear.
As I now look back to that time, the one thing I always say is "God carried us!" And I guess that is all I can say ... we were held and carried! And there is a bittersweet joy in that kind of deep trial ... when all there is to make it through is HIM and His loving Presence.
Read MoreA friend recently posted an arresting thought on facebook:
Your value doesn't decrease, based on someone's inability to see your worth.
Truth!
Where does our value lie? Our value is based on our Creator's opinion of us...which is love and grace and glory!
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 1 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
He has planted His own life in us through His glorious Son. So whatever our Father God thinks about His beloved Son, He thinks of us also!
. . . The Lord Jesus Christ in you! The Lord Jesus Christ in me! What glory right here...right now!
The Sovereign Creator of the Universe lives in each of His children! His life courses through our spiritual veins! What glory for this life as well as the life to come!
And so this week in the midst of has been a year of upheaval, let's celebrate and enjoy the joy of the One who is Greater by far!…
… In the midst of our conversation, he said with a shy little laugh, “You may think this is silly, but I thought to myself, ‘it’s crowded in there!’ ”
No, he wasn’t referring to his physical residence in the retirement community. You see, my brother in the Lord, who has known and taught the word of God for decades, was coming into a deeper and richer experience of those treasured truths he had known and cherished for so long. And it is capturing this heart and mind.
Read MoreWhile all around us leaves us unsettled and empty, let’s reflect on the One who fills us … and has always been the stabilizer of our souls.
Here is a piece I wrote several years ago in answer to a dear friend’s question : How does this whole thing called the Christian life fit together.
I would love to hear your thoughts as you interact with the truths that follow … and may you be encouraged and challenged by what you read!
Read MoreDo you reach out to those in need? Feed the hungry? Clothe the “naked”? Help the homeless?
Do you pray for the sick? Bring meals to families during health crises? Comfort the bereaved and check up on the lonely?
Do you believe that these acts of service are examples of Jesus’ call to “love one another as I have loved you”… to “love your neighbor as yourself” … to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider[ing] one another as more important than yourselves; … not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”? (Philippians 2:3-4)
Read More. . . The Gentile seekers were led to Jerusalem by a celestial phenomenon, the star. They were not experts in the Scriptures, but they were driven to learn more about what God was doing in their day. And they undertook an arduous journey that probably took months to find the answer to their question.
Israel’s wise men knew the Scripture, yet they were not motivated to find out for themselves what God had done. They weren’t motivated enough to travel five miles to Bethlehem to see for themselves.
I love the Scripture, I’ve known the Scripture since I was a small boy. But I understand that Bible knowledge alone cannot generate spiritual vitality. . .
… we are like the star that led the Magi to Christ … or we can be. We can, in our very person, be the light that points another to the King. You and I have the King of Kings living within us. But as always it is our choice whether we allow the King to live through us and manifest His presence to seeking hearts who are walking in darkness all around us.
Author Tim Chester, in his lovely Advent devotional on Philippians 2 The One True Gift, caught my attention when he pointed out from Scripture one way that God says we can shine like stars …
Read More…Well, rather than nixing our family Christmas Eve tradition of “Poppi’s Christmas devotions,” my darling husband John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used what has been happening in our COVID world to share with the grands and their parents (in our hybrid celebration) the glory of the Incarnation.
So here is my favorite “Guest Branch” John, revisiting his message to our family this past Christmas Eve . . .
Read MoreHere we are again, friends. Another year has past, and for many it’s a time for the infamous “New Year Resolutions.” But a few years ago I turned away from that often hopeful, but dreaded “setting up for failure,” tradition to a new thing altogether.
And thank God, because 2020 has destroyed any expectations and traditions I may have expected to rehearse again this year. So my yearly quest to discern my God-given word of the year stood me in good stead during this year of amazing change … never quite knowing which end was up.
Read MoreJanet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
